Friday, 26 October 2012

Much more land now registered

A voluntary land ownership registration scheme
introduced by the Labour Government ten years ago has proved a major success
with most land now on the books of the Land Registry.

The Land Registration Act 2002 was introduced when
most land in England and Wales was not registered with coverage levels below
40% in North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Powys, Wiltshire and Dorset. In
addition, Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Somerset, Norfolk and Suffolk were
all below 50%.

That has now changed dramatically. As of 1 August 2012,
Lancashire registration levels have risen to 83%. There have been large jumps
in North Yorkshire (up from 44% to 81%), Norfolk (up from 37% to 81%). Somerset
(up from 41% to 79%), Powys (up from 38% to 72%) and Gwynedd (up from 46%
to 72%).

Although registration is not complete, with around a
fifth of land in England and Wales still unrecorded, these latest figures are
closing the gap on the question as to who Owns Britain. Back in 1874 the
compilation by Local Government Boards of The Return of the Owners of Land
proved an embarrassment to the handful of landowners who owned most of the
country.

No similar study was undertaken until Kevin Cahill’s
2001 book Who Owns Britain completed
a lifetime’s work and revealed that 189,000 people owned 88% of the land. The
Duke of Westminster at Eaton Hall near Chester is a large landowner with over
130,000 acres. As some of the holdings are in central London then according to
the Sunday Times Rich List for 2011 he is worth £7.35 bn and is the richest UK-born person in Britain.

Over the last decade the issue of land reform has been
high on the political agenda in Scotland that has not been the case in England
and Wales. Now, Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, has
tabled a private member’s bill seeking Parliamentary support for research into
“the merits of replacing the Council Tax and non-domestic rates in England with
an annual levy on the unimproved vale of all land.”

A land value tax (LVT) was first promoted by American
economist Henry George in 1879. It has been introduced in a number of
countries including Russia and Estonia. Ireland appears to be currently
wavering on its commitment to introduce LVT next year. In the UK the Liberal
Democrats have a long-standing attachment.

Supporters believe LVT can prevent investment in
unproductive property. In her speech to MPs Lucas said: “LVT encourages
efficient and sustainable use of land, as owners of derelict land or properties
that they have deliberately allowed to become run down pay the same as those
who take care of their properties.”

The Brighton MP said the Valuation Office Agency
should be able to assess the value of all land. With most land now registered
such a task would now be considerably easier than a decade ago. Lucas’s bill is
due a second reading in November.